New to Blu: September 7-13 > TV

Dexter diehards at last can view the series in HD with this week’s Blu-ray release of season five.

All of the Dexter seasons are on Blu-ray in the US but inexplicably the fifth is the first here, although the fourth was offered on the format across the Tasman.

It comes out ahead of Dexter being one of the HD staples on Sky’s new SoHo channel, where season five will be one of its first “box set weekend” marathons (every episode will air back-to-back).

In the meantime, on Blu-ray it’s “a damn near perfect viewing experience” that (sigh) is “every bit as impressive as the series’ previous releases”.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena comes with a 3D Ring of Fire battle sequence bonus but stands out even more for its “near flawless” transfer: “The resolution is magnificent, the deep, rich colour leaping off the screen and the visual effects popping with insane clarity.”

HD quality “follows the same ethic as the film it presents: it’s not great”, although the “subpar” special effects integration has less to do with the transfer than “Cormanavision at its finest”.

Also new this week are two overdue BBC science series that have aired here only in SD, Wonders of the Universe and How the Earth Made Us (series two is out on Blu-ray in the UK), and a raft of animation that ranges from children’s (Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels) to anime (Death Note Movie Collection, High School of the Death Collection, TO 2001 Nights, Dance in the Vampire Bund Series Collection).